As known, the hand brake lever is hinged to a fixed structure and, by rotation about a horizontal axis, slides within a slot of said fixed structure. The slot is closed by a shutter or by coverings made of rubber, plastic or leather, which prevent dust and other objects from entering through the slot allowing, however, the lever to move back and forth.
In the solutions provided with a shutter, the latter has a hole slidingly engaged by the lever and is pulled back and forth by the lever itself while being guided by two side rails.
In some solutions, such as that shown in DE10244454A1, the shutter is made of a flexible material, while the two side rails are made with a curve so as to bend the shutter downwards behind the slot when the lever is raised and rotated backwards.
A solution of the type just described, however, is relatively complex to assemble and requires relatively precise positioning tolerances of the components in the longitudinal direction.
In addition, the hand brake lever traditionally has an elongated rectilinear shape, which also imposes limits on volume and shape in the design of the surrounding spaces.